Enslaved Black Population

Slavery as an Institution and the Fur Trade

Slavery under the French in the North American colonies was defined as what was known as "Le Code Noir" or the Black Code. The first article of those code emphasizes that all enslaved individuals must be baptized in the Roman Catholic church, this demonstrates the important role religious conversion played in French slavery.¹In 1689, a French colonial official named Ruette d'Auteuil proposed that African slaves could be imported en masse to New France to build up it's infrastructure while also being appareled in beaver skin in order to prepare the soften the rough furs to be later sold.². Enslaved African laborers were indeed brought by the French to Detroit in order to work with Voyageurs in the processing and transportation of furs, but it was Indigenous enslavement which was far more prominent. The institution of slavery was indeed quite intertwined with the fur trade in the north, which is not usually how the institution is portrayed. The stolen labors of enslaved people truly propelled the trade forward. As the British took over formal jurisdiction of Detroit, enslaved people from the colony of New York were often sourced and imported by British military officials and wealthy merchants who sought to find their fortune on the frontier. The mercantilist nature of the town was truly built around the labors of enslaved people, in this northern frontier settlement the institution of slavery festered and grew throughout the 18th century. As mentioned previously, the James Sterling letterbook correspondences will also offer an insight into the nature of enslaved labor and the fur trade. James Sterling writes about how he had acquired black enslaved individuals prior to leaving for Detroit in 1760 and in 1761 writes about how his business relied on this labor.³Sterling's anecdotes go to show just how frontier businesses engaged in the fur trade heavily relied on enslaved labor. As interpreted by historian Tiya Miles, Sterling had his enslaved laborers in a sort of "pre-industrtal transit system" which connected buyers, sellers, and the goods of his shop.⁴

The Enslaved Community in Detroit

By 1760 there were approximately 62 enslaved individuals within Detroit.⁵The enslaved people of Detroit would have lived in extremely close proximity with the free residents of the town as they went about their daily lives in such a communal environment as early Detroit. Enslaved women worked in considerably more domestic roles, in people's homes and gardens, preparing food, caring for children, and cleaning both private and public spaces in the settlement. Enslaved men were expected to carry out more physically demanding tasks related to the fur trade. Enslaved men in Detroit often learned more skilled trades in order to perform more complex work such as serving as specialized artisans in carpentry. Slavery within Detroit did not exist in the same fashion as say in some of the other more established East Coast British colonies. Racial categorization and hierarchies were far more fluid in such a diverse and isolated settlement as Detroit. This meant that it was far more common for enslaved individuals within Detroit to be more specialized in their work and participate more intimately in the settlement's affairs. 

¹The “Code Noir” (1685), 1685. https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/1205/2016/02/code-noir.pdf.

²Miles, Tiya. The dawn of detroit: A chronicle of slavery and freedom in the city of the Straits. New York: The New Press, 2019. 

³Sterling, J. (1761). James Sterling Letter Book, 1761-1765..

⁴Ibid

⁵Miles, Tiya. The dawn of detroit: A chronicle of slavery and freedom in the city of the Straits. New York: The New Press, 2019